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{ Princeton, Nw j | 


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Van Vranken Samuel] 


Mexenaees IV 92AT867- | 
Socinianism, 
Christianity 


Subversive of | 


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13, insert “ him” between from and that. 
16, for “preparation »” read preparative, 
9, for “‘ sacrifice? read Sacrifices, — 
1, erase “the Son of.” 
15, for “path” read faith, 
4, for “denials” read deniers, 
6, for “ question” read religion, 
10, for ‘‘ case” read ease. 
6, for “‘ motion” read motive, 
1], for “reasons” read reason. 


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SOCGINIANISM 


SUBVERSIVE OF CHRISTIANITY. 
A SERMON. 


By SAMUEL A. VAN VRANKEN, 


Minister of the Gospel and Pastor of the R. D. Churchin Broome-st. 


PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST 
OF THE 


CONSISTORY OF SAID CHURCH. 


NEW YORK: 
ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET. 


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1841. 


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- SOCINIANISM 


SUBVERSIVE OF CHRISTIANITY. 


I Joun i. 23. 
Whosbever denieth the Son, the same hath 


not the Father. 


Our object from these words is 
not so much to show directly, that 
they who deny the Son, have not the 


#F ather, and consequently are without 


God, ‘and without hope in the world ; 
as to do the same thing zadirectly, by 


_ showing that denying the proper 


deity of Christ, necessarily involves 
the denial of all the great peculiarities 
of the revealed system; denies scope 


to its prophecies; significancy to its 


4 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


appointments; definiteness to its lan- 
guage ; meaning to the convictions 


and hopes which it inspires ; solidity . 


to its arguments; and in a word, to 
show that the denial of Christ’s di- 
vinity, is the denial of that, which is 
interwoven with the whole texture of 
revealed truth, and imparts to it its 
highest glory, strength, and efficacy. 
To believe that Christ is the Son 
of the Living God, in the sense which 


implies his participation of a common 


nature with the Father, is the leading 
act of evangelical faith, and naturally. 


associates with it, the belief of that 
entire system of doctrine which 


makes the gospel what it is. 

It is not necessary to prove that 
the system which rejects the divinity 
of Christ, necessarily rejects the doc- 
trine of representation, atonement 


OF CHRISTIANITY. ; a 
for sin, regeneration by the spirit of 
God, justification by faith, and other 
__ kindred doctrines; since the rejec- 
tion of these is avowed and gloried 
in, as evidencing the superior claims 
of the system to reasonableness and 
liberality. Keeping these things in 
sight, it will be easy to evince, that 
unless a man be willing to renounce 
all the blessings which are wrapped 
up in these doctrines, he is bound, as 
he values the everlasting interests of 
his soul, not to spurn away from that 
mystery of godliness, “God manifest 
-in the flesh.” | 
_ In preparing the argument which 
~ Lam about to offer, I have not hesi-. 
- tated to avail myself to some extent 
of the reasonings and illustrations of 
one, who has most nobly vindicated 
the honor of our Exalted Lord. I 

‘ 1# 


6 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


refer you to Massillon on the Divinity 
of Jesus Christ. 

In support of the position that the 
doctrine of Christ’s supreme deity 
purvades the whole system of revela- 
tion, we adduce. 


I. In the first place, the character 
which is given of the Messiah, in the 
prophecies and appointments in 
which his advent is announced, to- 
gether with the expectations which 
were thereby created. Nothing is 
more evident than that the divine 
communications made to man, and 
the whole religious economy as estab- 
lished by authority previous to the 
advent of Christ, were designed, as 
they were adapted, to direct the faith 
of the Church to the Messiah, as a 
being exalted in his claims upon: the 


>: OF, CHRISTIANITY. — (i 


confidence and reverence of man, far 
above any thing that could be due to 
a mere creature. ie 

Although the first promise an- 
nounces the Messiah as the “seed of 
the woman ;” yet so much meaning, 
and so much dignity must be attached 
even to that designation, as to adapt 
it to the exigencies of that tremen- 
dous occasion, in which every circum- 
stance was a sign that all was lost. 
That God who apportions his con- 
solations to the anguish he would 7 
assuage, spoke to our guilty parents 
of one, the contemplation of whose 
character and might would afford 
relief, and administer comfort under 
the burden of those woes, which they 
had brought upon themselves and 
upon the world. If he did not speak 
to them of one who could restore the 


* 
i 


8 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


tremendous ruin which sin had made; 
ene mighty to save beyond all 
created power, to what purpose did 
‘he speak at all? since less than this, 
would have been far enough from 
meeting the exigencies of the oc- 
casion. 
In that succession of prophecies by 
which, through a series of ages, God 
was pleased to communicate his pur- 
poses to man, we see the same pre- 
eminence given to the character of 
him who was to come. To this the 
prophetic spirit hastens, on ¢his: it 
glows, and expatiates, till the rapt 
seer is lost amidst the glories of the 
Messiah. He is indeed represented 
as partaking of a nature like our own ; 
but he is called a Star, a Sun, the 
Glory of Israel, the Light of the Gen- 
tiles, Wonderful, Counsellor, the 


“tes 
OF CHRISTIANITY. 9 


Mighty God, the Father afc Wictompiitep 
the Prince of Peace, Jehovah, our 
Righteousness. He is represented as 
one who was set up from everlasting; 
who when there was no depths was 
brought forth; who when God pre- 
pared the heavens was there, when 
he appointed the foundations of the 
earth was by him, as one brought 
up with him; was daily his delight 
rejoicing always before him. 

The organization of the church in 
the family of Abraham seems to have 
been little more than a measure pre- 
paratory to the coming of the Messiah. 
Allits sacrifices and appointments di- 
rected the faith of believers to him, 
as toa God: and in the almost endless 
revolutions which the church under- 
went, nothing appears to have been 
regarded as of importance, compared 


10° SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


with the preservation of the promise 
of the Messiah, of which the church 
was the appointed depository. She 
might exult in her glory, or sigh over 
the wreck of her greatness, it appears 
to have been enough that the promise. 
was preserved ; and the great object 
of that promise was kept constantly 
before the mind, by every ‘rite, by 
every victim, by every drop of sacri- 
ficial blood required by the Mosaic 
ritual to be shed. 

From the first promise made to 
Adam, down to the revelation of the 
Holy Ghost to the venerable Simeon, 
for four thousand years - the most 
encouraging promises, the most mag- 
nificent predictions, the most signifi- 
cant ritual appointments, produced 
and preserved amidst all revolutions 
the loftiest expectations of the Comming, 


‘OF CHRISTIANITY. | ie > 


of the Messiah. From the promises 
the pious looked to him; from the 
ritual they looked to him; from Je- 
rusalem they looked to him; from 
Babylon they looked to him; he was 
the Star of their night and the Sun 
of their day ; hope clung to him; 
children were pointed to him; and 
age was supported in infirmity and 
death by the faith of his advent. He 
was represented as the desire of all 
nations, and the very shaking of the 
nations was only to prepare for his 
coming. 

But who is he for whose coming 
such mighty preparations are made, 
and such ardent desires are cherish- 
ed? The opposer of our doctrine 
“answers “ @ mere man.” Amere man. 
Was it for this that the world was 
_ kept in a process of preparation, 


. 


12 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 

and ina state of expectation for so 
many ages! Was the ocean rocked 
into a tempest and kept heaving so 
long, only to waft this feather? ‘This 
“seed of the woman,’ the promise of 
whom to our first parents, was the 
antidote of God for the horrors of 
conviction that they had sunk a 
world in death; this Wonderful ; 
this Counsellor; this Mighty God; 
this Father of eternity ; this Prince 
of Peace; this Jehovah our righteous- 
ness, whose goings forth have been of 
old, from everlasting, who was with 
God when he prepared the heavens, 
and laid the foundations of the earth, 
as one brought up with him; a mere 
man! How is it, that none of those 
terms which had hitherto been em- 
ployed to express the highest hon-_ 
ors to which prophet, priest or king, 


OF CHRISTIANITY, f 13 


had ever yet been exalted among 
men, were deemed adequate to re- 
present Messiah’s glory? Or these 
failing, were there none in the vocab- 
ulary of the thrones and dominions, 
the principalities and the powers of 
heaven, that were sufficient for the 
due expression of his majesty? Must 
God lavish upon him all the glory of 
his own incommunicable titles and 
attributes? Or having done so, could 
he have designed less, than that the 
Church should receive him in the | 
character, which those titles and at- 
tributes imply? If mortals bow the 
knee, and worship as Jehovah him, 
whom the Father calls by that incom- 
municable and gracious name, and _ 
whom he commands the angels of his | 
“presence to worship, shall they be 
Judged guilty of idolatry? as they. 
2 


14 —— SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


surely are, if the Messiah be not God. 
If guilty, to whose charge must the 
sin be laid? Certainly not to theirs ; 
and if not to theirs, let his enemies 
declare the necessary conclusion; our 
tongue refuses to pronounce the blas- 

phemy. But it was designed that | 
the Messiah should be received and 
honored by the church as God, for 
the very reason. that he is so called 
—“‘he was God.” So Simeon re- 
ceived him—so all that waited for 
the consolation of Israel received 
him; or they were behind the impi- 
ous in their expectations from the 
majesty of the oracle. For even the 
unbelieving Jews, who regarded only 
the humanity of Christ, treated his 
claims to the Messiahship with scorn. 
They saw nothing in him that was 
answerable to the descriptions given 


OF CHRISTIANITY. | | 15 


by the prophets of God’s Messiah. 
They could never believe that it was 
he, whom David by the spirit called 
Lord and God. And had they been 
right in regarding him as a mere 
man, they would have been right in 
rejecting him as the Messiah. Onthe 
other hand, the acknowledgement of 
his Messiahship and divinity, always 
in point of fact, went together; 
because they mutually inplied each 
other. Whoever acknowledged him 
to be the Christ, acknowledged him 
to be the Son of God. What a 
wretched commentary is the Soci- 
nian doctrine upon the preparation ; 
announcements and appointments of 
God for the advent of his beloved 
Son. And mark how it strips lan- 
guage of meaning, covers the expect- 
ations of the ancient pious with scorn, 


16 -SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


and justifies the demand of the Jews 
_ for the execution of Christ, as a blas- 
_ phemer against God! 


II. In the second place, take into 
view the specific objects of Messiah’s 
coming into the world, in connection 
with the hopes which the contem- 
plation of these objects inspired. 
We shall say nothing in this place of 
what he was to accomplish in the 
discharge of the duties of his pro- 
phetic office. ‘That he was to appear 
in the character of a Priest, it were 
no better than a piece of rank infi- 
delity to deny. “Thou art a Priest 
forever after the order of Melchiza- 
dec,” says God to him by the mouth 
of David; and Zechariah says he 
shall be a Priest, as well as a king 
upon his throne. In this character, 
from the very nature of the appoint- 


OF CHRISTIANITY, 17 


ment, as well as from the reasoning 
of the apostle, “it was necessary that _ 
he should have somewhat to offer.” 
The victim, according to Isaiah, 
was to be himself; his soul was to be 
made an offering for sin. It was a 
prominent doctrine of the Mosaic 
law, that a transfer was to be made 
of the sins of God’s Israel to the 
victim appointed to be _ offered. 
Isaiah thus applies this doctrine to 
Christ. “ All we like sheep have gone 
astray, we have turned every one to 
his own way, and the Lord hath laid 
on him the iniquity of us all.” Our 
sins being imputed to him, he was 
to be wounded for our transgres- 
sions; he was to be bruised for ou7 
iniquities; the chastisement of our 
peace was to be laid upon him, and 
by his stripes we were to be healed. 
Q* . 


18 _—s SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE - 


According to Daniel he was tofinish 
transgressions, and make an end of _ 
sin, and make reconciliation for 


iniquity, and bring in everlasting 
righteousness. 
As King he was to reign from sea to 


sea, and from the river to the ends of 


the earth. His kingdom was to be an 
everlasting kingdom. “Thy throne 
~ O God is forever and ever.’ And he 
was to reignin “such a manner, that 


the whole earth with its strength of 


iron and brass, its splendor of gold 
and silver, smitten by the rod of his 
mouth, should be broken in pieces 
like a potter’s vessel;” “for thus,” 
says Calvin, “do the prophets fore- 


_ tell the magnificence of his king- 


dom.” He was to reign in the hearts 
and over the affectidale of his subjects, 


making them willing to submit to him 


ce 


_——— 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 19 


in the day of his power in the beauty 
of holiness. As Prince of Peace, he 

: | was to hush the tumult of the world 
and so to subdue the spirit of violence, 


that there should be nothing to hurt 
nor destroy in all God’s holy moun- 
tain. 

Here are objects worthy of the — 


divine councils, and worthy of the 


divine hand ; calculated to raise ex- 


‘pectations and hopes lofty and ardent 


as ever animated the bosoms of the 
most pious sons of Abraham. Ad-— 
monished by daily sacrifices of sins, 
which those sacrifices could not take 


away; knowing and feeling that 


2 those which they offered year by 


year continually, could not make the 
comers there unto perfect, or satisfy 
as pertaining to the conscience; why 
should they not look for, and hasten 


20 te SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 
unto the coming of his day, who by 


the sacrifice of himself should forever 
take away all their sins?) And why 


when wearied and discouraged by 


any thing they could do to fulfil the 


righteousness of the law, should they . 


not glory in his advent, who was to 
come not only to make an end of 
sin, but to bring in an everlasting 
righteousness ! | 

In contemplating the limited extent 
of the church, and the oppressions 
which it endured; in contemplating 
the idolatrous abominations of the 
heathen world, and the almost uni- 
versal prevalence of the most shame- 
ful moral impurities; why should not 


the believing Israelite rejoice in anti- 


cipating the establishment of Messiah’s 
throne! Why should he not dwell 
with holy pleasure on those promises, 


SS 


m4 


OF CHRISTIANITY. : 21 


which contemplated the overthrow 
of idolatry, a reign of righteousness, 
and the universal prevalence of holi- 
ness and peace? 

But mark the blasting effects of 
_the doctrine which denies the divinity 
of Christ upon all the joyous antici- 
pations of the believing Jew. It tells 
him that the sacrifice of his dispensa- 
tion, have no relation to any sacrifice 
to be made by the Messiah; that the 
Messiah’s priesthood means nothing ; 
that the declaration, that his soul was 
to be made an offering for sin means 
nothing; that the doctrine of the 
atonement is a mere fancy; that the 
Messiah is indeed to be cut off, but 
his death is to be only the death of a 
martyr. As for an everlasting righ- 
teousness, whatever the expression 
may mean, he must go about to es- 


22 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


tablish a righteousness of his own. 
Before such doctrine as this, how 
would hope languish, and expectation | 
die. The burden of unatoned for 
sin, would be left to press with crush- | 
ing weight upon the conscience, and 
arouse the fearful anticipations of 
coming judgment, and condemnation. 

As for that kingdom of righteous- 
ness and peace, that everlasting 
kingdom, whose blessings are to 
extend around the world, it is some- 
thing says this doctrine, very different 
from what might be supposed to be 
implied in the expression, “thy 
throne, O God, is forever and ever,” 
as of divine honors were to be paid 
to the Messiah. The kingdom will 
be found to consist, not of those who 
worship him, but of those who refuse 
to worship him. The many ten 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 


thousands who may suffer martyr- 
dom for owning him as God will be, 
(as the Roman Pliny has represented 

“them to be,) the victims of a misera- 
ble superstition. They only will be — 
~ true subjects who refuse to honor the 
Son as they honor the Father. And. 
when these shall have succeeded to 
supplant the principles of those who 
worship Christ, and pray and labor 
to advance his honor, and spread 
his gospel through the world, will 
the kingdom appear in the full de- 
velopment of its glory. 

Contemplate the prophets of God 
putting the power of language to its 
utmost task to describe the Media- 
tor’s kingdom, and the blessings of — 
his reign; contemplate the believing 
Hebrew elevated with. the loftiest 
expectations, and rejoicing as Abra- 


24 SOCINIANISM sieves : 

ham did to see the day of Christ ; 
then look at the interpretations of the 
doctrine we oppose, and their neces- 

sary results; and say whether asick- 

ly sadness does not pervade your 

spirits, and whether strange and un- 
welcome thoughts do not crowd into 
your troubled minds. Admit these. 
interpretations—deny the divinity of 
Christ, and what is left in the sacri- 

fices of the Old Testament Church, 

but rivers of blood, which while they — 
could not take away sin, had no re- 


ference to any thatcould? Whatin 


her numerous types but a succession 
of gloomy shadows having no relation 
to any substance? What in all that 
her prophets have written concern- 
ing the Mediator’s work, but the mad- 
ness of poetry, without the inspira- 
tion of prophecy? What in the 


is 


ve 
ony. 


li OF CHRISTIANITY. 25 


blessings thet! ware to succeed his 
advent, but the world plunged into a 
despicable idolatry? What in that 
magnificent kingdom over which he 


‘was to reign, but an inconsiderable 


sect—the fullowers, to use the lan- 
guage of another, of a miserable So- 


- einus 2 


These are some of the triumphs of 
boasted reason over the simplicity of 


. faith. Others worthy to be associated 


with them will appear in the pro- 
gress of this discourse. 


III. In the third place, if we ex- 
amine the doctrine of Jesus Christ 
concerning himself, we shall quickly 
be reduced to the necessity of ador-: 
ing him as God, or denouncing him 
as aman. If the prophets had spoken 
of him i In terms of extravagance, cal- 

38 


% 


~~ 


26 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


culated to raise him to honors that 
were not his own, we look to him to 
remove every false impression, and 
to make known the truth concerning 
his person and work. But what 
does he do? Does he tell us that 
David who called him Lord and God 
was mad? or that Isaiah who called 
him the Mighty God and the Father of 
eternity, dealtin rapsody? Nothing 
like it. He gives his sanction to all 
that the prophets had written con- 
cerning himself, his kingdom and his 
work. With the deniers of his di- 
vinity, he is but another Plato, or 
‘another Saccas, a teacher of a new 
philosophy. But hear his own ac- 
count of this matter. I came forth 
from God. All things must be ful- 
filled, which were written in the law 


»* 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 


of Moses, in the prophets, and in the 
Psalms concerning me. 

After considering what he says of 
himself, say what good man woyld 
ever dare to use the language which 
he constantly employs? Before 
Abraham was, says he, “Iam.” (God’s 
incommunicable name.) Addressing 
the Father, he says, “ glorify me with 
the glory which I had with thee be- 
fore the world was: Ihave power 
to lay down my life, and I have 
power to take it up again. All 
power is given to me in heaven and 
on earth.” He not only performs 
miracles in his own name, but he 
professes to communicate this power 
to others. Behold, I give you power 
to tread on serpents and over all the 
power of the enemy; heal the sick, 
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, 


28 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


cast out devils, freely ye have re- 
ceived, freely give. He professes to 
have power to forgive sins. - He suf- 
fered himself to be worshipped. He 
claims that all men should honor him, 
as they honor the Father. He 
promises to be with his disciples 
always, even unto the end of the 
world. He declares himself to be 
Lord of the Sabbath: claims to be 
the Judge of quick and dead; and 
gives assurance that See he 
should be seen coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great 
glory. He announces himself as the 
only way to the Father. He came 
to establish a holy and a universal 
kingdom: a kingdom not of | this 
world, the jaenainmaas of which, 
requires the exercise of all power 
in heaven and on earth; and all the 


% 


sd 
OF CHRISTIANITY. 29 


subjects of which must be born again. 
He came to be brought as a lamb to 
the slaughter. He came not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister and 
to pive his life a ransom for many. 
He came as the good shepherd to 
lay down his life for his sheep. He 
came in one word, to be the author 
of eternal salvation to his people, “I 
give unto them eternal life, and none 
shall be able to pluck them out of my 
hand.” 

Compare all this, with the language 
and conduct of the most distinguished 
servants of God, with whose presence 
and ministry the world has ever been 
blessed. Did Abraham the friend of. 
God speak in this way? Did Moses 
his servant, favored above all mén in 
the intimacy of his communion with 
heaven, speak in “this way! Did 

at) : 


ae: SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


Elijah that man of miracles take such 
freedoms with God? Did ever pro- 
phet claim a power of his own to 
work miracles; or presume to dele- 
gate such a power to others? Did 
any affect to forgive sins? Did any 
claim worship in conjunction with 
God! Would any have submitted 
to be worshipped? Paul and Bar- 
nabas rent their clothes and cried 
out to arrest such sin and folly from 
being practised on themselves; and 
so would every other man of God 
have done. Who besides Christ ever 
claimed to have had glory with the 
Father before the world was? That 
he was one with him? or that he 
would preside in the universal judg- 
ment? What martyr ever regarded 
his own death as a ransom for the 
sins of the world! -Or who. ever 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 31 7, 


professed to bestow the gift of eternal — 
life and to secure the enjoyment of 
the boon by the defences of a power 
paramount in heaven and earth, and 
all his own? If holy men would 
have trembled at the bare thought of 
these assumptions; where was the 
humility of Christ; or where was 
his zeal for his Father’s glory, when 
he assumed these high prerogatives. 
Compare further the language and 
conduct of Christ, with what the 
deniers of his divinity admit concern- 
ing the objects of his ministry ; and 
in which so far as they go, we agree 
with them. We agree that he came 
to confirm the doctrine of the unity 
of the divine essence, and yet he de- 
clares that he and his Father are one. 
He came to rescue the world from 
the worship of demons and men; and 


® 


‘go SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 
yet he says that all men should honor 


him, as they honor the Father. He 
came to vindicate the undivided 


_. sovereignty of God over the universe 


of matter and of spirit; and yet he 
commissions his disciples to perform 
the most stupendous miracles, in both _ 
departments in his own name. | He - 
came to maintain the divine preroga- 
tive in the moral kingdom; and yet. 
he claims for himself the power of 
forgiving sins. He came to detach all 
hearts from undue affection for creat- 
tedobjects, and to unite them to God; 
and yet he so attaches them to him- 
self, that his disciples must forsake 
all to follow him, and be ready to 
lay down their lives for his sake. 
He came to teach all men to recog- 
nize their accountability to God alone, 
as judge of all; and yet he declares 


- OF CHRISTIANITY. 33 


that before himself the universe shall 
be arraigned in judgment. Hecame 
to direct intelligent beings to God as 


the only source of divine blessings ; “4 


and yet he assumes to give unto them 
eternal life. Admit his divinity, and 
_ his instructions are worthy of him- 
, a self, and of the fidelity which he 
owed to the Father who sent him. 
Deny it, and what are we to say of 
the mere man, the good man, the meek, 
the self-denying man of the Socinian 
theology? Had he come to con- 
found all truth; to distract all minds: 
to alienate all hearts from God, and 
to divide with him the glory of 
universal empire, what could he have 
done that he did not do? By what 
means could he have pushed his 
pretensions further; or made greater 
inroads upon the monarchy of God ? 


a 


34 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


Were we to admit for a moment 
that the language of Jesus Christ 
could, by the help of a large share of 
ingenuity, be made to convey the 
meaning, which the enemies of: his 
divinity ascribe to it; the admission 
would be at the expense of all that 1s 
valuable in the character of a mes- 
senger of God. The multitude for 
whose use it was intended, never 
have, and never can so understand it. 
And it were disingenuous to employ 
language in one sense, which will 
invariably be understood in another. 
Jesus knew how he would be under- 
stood by his hearers. He knew 
what interpretation was put upon 
his declaration that he was the Son 
of God; for he was charged with 
blasphemy, and his life was sought 
on that very account;, because by it, 


OF CHRISTIANITY. oa (35. 


he was judged to have made himself 
equal with God. And yet he goes 
on, and perpetuates in the church 
the occasion of perpetual error. 
Why was he not admonished by the 
prophetic spirit of what would be 
the result to the world of his method 
of speaking of himself? Or why, 
even without the help of a prophetic 
spirit; did not his human sagacity 
perceive, and his goodness provide 
against results, so humiliating and 
destructive to man? 


VI. In the fourth place, let us exa- 
mine the doctrine of the apostles con- 
cerning the character of Jesus Christ, 
and the nature of his mediatorial work. 
To them it was given to know the 
mysteries of the kingdom of God, 
and they were the authorised ex- 


36 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


pounders of the doctrines of their 
master. If they regarded him as a 
mere man; what manner of man 
could they have conceived him to 


be? 


They call him the “image of the 


invisible God;’ “the brightness of 
the Father's glory, and the express 
image of his person.” John says, “he 
was God.” Paul calls him, “God 
our Savior; and God over all.” 
Of his pre-existence they allege that 
“he was in the beginning with God,” 
“that he is before all things.” They 
represent him as “knowing all 
things ;’? as “head over all things ;” 
as “filling all things.” They ascribe 


to him immutability. “Jesus Christ _ 
the same yesterday, to day, and for- 


ever.” And the attributes of inde- 


pendence, eternity and omnipotence | 


~ 

| 

ji 
ey 
“wt 
| 

» | 
aah 
» = 4) 
: it 
p 

it 

yu 


a 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 37 


are clearly implied in the expression 
—‘“which was and is to come, the 
Almighty.” | John ascribes to him the 
work of creation; and Paul says 
that “by him were all things created 
that are in heaven and that are in 
earth, visible and invisible, whether 
they be thrones, or dominions, or 
’ principalities, or powers, and that by 
him all things consist.” To his spirit 
they ascribe the mspiration of the 
prophets. To his voice the resur- 
rection of thedead. To his bar they 
refer the universe for judgment. 
And to him they declare that every 
knee shall bow, and every tongue 
i confess, of things in heaven, and © 
4 _ things in earth, and things under the. 
ie earth, what manner of man is this? 
_ Ifthey speak of the throne of God, 
es Jesus Christ is upon it—if of the glory 
m a ; . ‘ 


a 


| 
38 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


of heaven, it is the glory of the Son of 
the Lord God and of the Lamb ; if of 


the hallelujah of the redeemed, their 


language is, “ unto him that loved us 
and washed us from our sins in his 
own blood, and made us Kings and 
Priests unto God and his Father, to 
him be glory and dominion forever 
and ever.” If the apostles burn with 
zeal, it is to serve Christ. If they 
desire to depart, it is that they may 
be with Christ. “David exclaimed, 
“ whom have I in heaven but thee ?” 
Was Paul so unlike him, that instead 
of associating his happiness in heaven 
with the idea of the presence of God, 
he anticipated it only from the pre~ 
sence of a man? Is it around the 
throne of such an one, that the rain- 
bow of the covenant bends! Or 
was it the vision of a man, that 


- 


a 


‘OF CHRISTIANITY. , 39 


ministered tothe triumph of the dying 


Stephen? The apostles honer the 
-. Son as they honor the Father, in 


their prayers—so they honor him in 
their baptisms—so they honor him 
in their benedictions—and so they 


honor him in theirargument. Mark 


an instance of the latter in Heb. 2d 
ehap. “If the word spoken by angels 
was steadfast, and every transgression 
and disobedience received a just 
recompense of reward, how shall we 
escape if we neglect so great salva- 
tion, which at first began to be spo- 
ken by the Lord?” ‘The argument 


is from the less to the greater, and in 


this lies its force. Ifthey who con- 
temned the ministration of angels 
who are the less, received the just 
reward of their disobedience, how 
shall we escape if we neglect the 


40 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 
ministrations of Christ the greater; 
the Lord whom the angels are com- 
manded to worship! Here is an 
argument worthy of the spirit of wis- 
dom by which the apostle wrote. 
Admit the doctrine we oppose, and 
what have we? If the ministration 
of angels, those high intelligences of 
heaven, was honored by the just 
judgments of God upon every trans- 
gressor, how shall we escape, if we 
neglect the ministrations of a man, 
who is greatly their inferior! So 
the men who will not bow their rea- 
son to the path of Christ would have 
Paul to argue; and that too, in the 
pause of a most lofty celebration of 
the divine honors of the Son of God ! 
What is this but to make an idiot of 
the apostle, and to burlesque the in- 
spirations of the Holy One? 


* OF CHRISTIANITY. 41 


Of the superiority of Christ over 
mere men, as a principle of argu- 
ment, we hazard nothing by the 
remark, that if he be not infinitely 
greater than Moses, greater than 
Aaron, greater than all priests and 
all prophets, if he be not God, then is 
a large portion of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews a tissue of absurdities; and 
he who wrote it, while he under- 
took to teach others, had need 
himself to be taught the first princi- 
ples of reason and argument. 

As with the arguments of the 
apostles, so with their scheme of 
salvation; it requires that in the. 
Savior should “dwell all the ful- 
ness of the Godhead bodily.” Its 
weight would crush every support, 
less powerful than this. The blood 
of atonement which it demands, 


4* 


- v i 
ao 

4 « 
“ 
“ft 


42 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


‘must be as Paul calls it, the blood of 
God. He on whom help is laid, 
must be mighty to vindicate the 
honor of the divine law - to contend 
successfully with principalities and 
powers; to effect a resurrection from 
the death of sin, quickening whom | 
_ he will. He must be able to hold 
the subjects of his renewing grace 
with a hand, from which no power 


ean pluck them. He must attend to — 


their interest in heaven; he must be 
with them on earth. He must know 
all their sorrows, that he may com- 
fort them; all their weaknesses, that 
he may strengthen them; all their 
temptations, that he may succor 
them. He must know all the wiles 
of their enemies; and he must be 
able to defeat them. He must con- 
quer death and the grave, to secure 


A ee PE op, CHRISTIANITY. 43, 
the joyful resurrection of such as 
sleep in him. He must be head over 
allthings; to subordinate them to 
the safety and ultimate triumph of 
his church. 

- But who of all created beings is 
sufficient for these things? They 
who deny the proper deity of Christ 
should call upon the apostles, not 
only to change their language con- 
cerning his personal glory; but also 
to tear down the whole frame work 
of salvation, which they have reared 
up; and in the place of it talk of 
some moral reform, which requires 
none of the might of him, in whom 
has been rolled the burden of a 
world’s redemption. If amere man 
can be the author of salvation ; it is 
not the eternal salvation of the gospel, 
which the apostles preached, and in 


44 . SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


which is placed the hope of a ruined 
world. ° 

It is manifest that the writers of 
_ the New Testament attest the supe- 
 rlority of Christ over all creatures, 
not merely by individual expressions, 
which if they imply any thing, imply 
his essential divinity ; but it consti- 
tutes the great pervading spirit of 
their writings; mixes up with all 
their doctrines, and gives character 
to all their statements. It is the 
source of their blessings, the direc- 
tory of their worship, the postulate 
of their arguments, the glory of their 
heaven, the alpha and the omega of 
their system of salvation. Could 
unbelievers in the supreme deity of 
Christ have written of him, as they 
have written? Could they have 
ascribed to a mere piece of humanity, 


OF +CHRISTIANITY.. a 45 


all the titles, all the attributes, all the 
works, and all the worship of the 
Almighty God? Could they have . 


gone nowhere without finding him ? 


As if. “he filled immensity with his _ : 


presence !” Could they have found » 
him nowhere, without bowing to him ~ 
as if he were “ God over all blessed... 
forever?’ Could they not have 
crowned their message of gladness 
to the world with a richer benedic- 
tion than that which closes the sacred 
cannon, “the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ be with you all,” as if 
his blessing secured the consumma- 
tion of immortal glory? Believe it 
who will, I trust you never can. 


V. Lastly, let us examine the 
spirit of the Gospel ministry, in con- 
nection with the divinity of Christ ; 


46 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 
and compare it with the spirit which 
always, and necessarily attends the 
opposite doctrine. ‘That system 
which represents the condition of 
_ man to be such, that nothing short of 
the interposition of an Almighty arm 
ean effect his deliverance—which 
represents the ruin total, and an 
interest in the merits of Christ as 
revealed in the gospel indispensible 
to salvation, demands from all who 
are engaged in furthering the mercl- 
ful designs of God, a spirit in which 
. compassion, benevolence, self-denial, 
and earnestness to do good to others, 
are exhibited in their most amiable 
forms, and in their most efficient 
~ combination. 
The most perfect illustrations of 
this spirit is furnished by Christ him- 
self.. He comes as if he felt and 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 47 


-sorrowed for the lost. He comes as 
one who from heaven had heard the | 
_ groaning of the prisoners, and had it 
"in heart to loose those that were ap-. 
pointed to death ; to proclaim hberty 


to the captive, and the opening of | fs 


the prison to them that were bound. 
He comes administering consolation 
to the wretched ; and he announces 
it as among the most distinguished 
proofs of his Messiahship, that he 
_ preached the gospel to the poor.” 

From the master, the disciples 


catch the spint by which they are 


animated, and they proceed in their 
ministry, as if they felt for the guilt, 
and wretchedness, and danger of 
those to whom they aresent. Every 
where in the midst of persecutions 
they warn men to fly from the wrath 
to come—they persuade them by the 


48 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


terrors of the Lord—they beseech 
them to be reconciled to God. 
_ They travail with them in birth till 
Christ be formed in them the hope of 
-glory—they urge their doctrines 
“home to the conscience, with a di- 
rectness and pungency of appeal, 
that forces from the trembling spirit 
the cry “what must I do to be 
saved?” Here we have the spirit 
of martyrdom, and of missions. The 
spirit which made Paul exclaim in 
view of bonds and imprisonments, 
“none of these things move me, 
neither count I my life dear unto 
myself, so that I might finish my 
course with joy and the ministry 
which I have received of the Lord 
Jesus, to testify the gospel of the 
grace of God.” The spirit, which 
in the desire to save the lost, en- 


OF CHRISTIANITY, 49 


counters perils on the deep, in the 
wilderness, and among the heathen, 
The spirit which carries the lamp of 
life to the benighted, and sacrifices 
life itself in the effort to promote 
their salvation. hy 

If on the other hand, the members 
of the human family be regarded as 
by no means dead in trespasses and 
sins, but only not quite such as they 
ought to be, and might be without a 
divine deliverer ; we have little right 
to look for more than the stateliness 
of philosophical teaching—efforts to 
influence the influential, court to 
the great and contempt for the poor 
—a ministry that may command com- 
pliments, but not a ministry for our 
world; for its guilt and pollution, and 
wretchedness, and poverty, and de- 
gradation; a ministry not adapted 


a) 


50 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


to avert the doom that rests upon 
it. : 

What we have a right to look for 
from the denials of the divinity of 
Christ and its attendant doctrines, 
we may see, and no more. What 
history informs us that they have 
ever acted as if they considered 
their system as of any great conse- 
quence themselves? Particularly, 
with what evidence are we furnished 
that they have been intent upon the 
spiritual welfare of such as were the 
special objects of Christ’s ministry ! 
In what hovels have they been found, 
instructing and consoling the wretch- 
ed inmates? On what pagan coast 
are they seen, bearing in their hands 
the standard of the cross!’ In what 
dark interior do you hear of them, 
enduring hardness in their zeal to 


“s 


| OF CHRISTIANITY. 51 
promote the salvation of the heathen? 
These questionsare not asked with a 
view to insult. over them, as if they 
were recreant to their principles. 
No. It is the fault’ of the doctrine. 
Their question is one from which the 
spirit that sighs over the wretched- 
ness of the guilty, is utterly foreign ; 
and they act as much in consistency 
with their theology, as their case, in 
leaving the missionary field to per- 
petual desolation. 

If however anything be attempted 
in the way of missions it must inevi- 
tably fail of success. The following 
extract from history is worthy of 
consideration in this connection. 
“They,” says Mosheim, speaking of 
those who denied the divinity of 
Christ, “also sent Missionaries to 
several places towards the conclusion 


52 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


of this (16) century in order to make 
proselytes, and erect new congrega + 
tions. These Missionaries seemed 
every way qualified to gain credit to 
the cause in which they had em- 
barked; as some of them were 
distinguished by the lustre of their 
birth, and others by the extent of 
their learning and the power of their 
eloquence ; and yet notwithstanding 
their uncommon advantages, they 
failed almost every where in their 
attempts.” And why should they 
not fail? While they denied the 
omnipotence of the Savior, they 
could carry with them no pledge of 
forgiveness in the blood of atonement: 
with them there was no spirit to 
quicken the dead in trespasses and 
sins: they had no balm for the 
wounds of the conscience: the dying 


aa 


“pa. 
aed op CHRISTIANITY. — 63 
they could not point to the resur- 
rection and the life: their system 
having no adaptation to the wr etched- 
ness of a ruined world, finds no 
place for sympathy ; it furnishes no 
motion to zeal; it is without an 
object, worthy of the spirit of the 
ministry of Jesus Christ. It may 
enlist birth, and learning, and elo- 
quence; but is cold, academical, 
philosophical. It greets the wise, 
the mighty and the noble ; and while : 
it is over anxious for an introduction ae 
into the courts of the great, and into 
the halls of the learned; it regards 
not the abodes of the ignorant, nor 
the lamentable cries of the broken 
hearted penitent. It passes by on 
the other side. OQ how unlike is the 


spirit of all this, to that of him, who 
" was anointed to preach good tidings 


F, 
o* 


- 
7 


54 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


to the meek, to bind up the broken 
hearted, to comfort all that mourn; 
and who said the poor have the 
gospel preached unto them. The 
spirit of this ministry comes home to 
the heart, whose religious sensibili- 
ties have been awakened to a just 
sense of its guilt and wretchedness ; 
and it is felt to be the offspring of 
the bosom of one, who while he was 
in the form of God, and thought it 
no robbery to be equal with God, 
made himself of no reputation and 
took upon him the form of a servant 
and became obedient unto death, for 
the salvation of the lost. The bare 
consideration of this ministry might 
melt a frozen heart. The other 
comes over it like a winter's blast, 
freezing the circling blood of sym- 


OF CHRISTIANITY, 55 


pathy and compassion, and blighting 
the sweet fruits of love. 

Here we rest our argument. 
And we ask you brethren, whether 
Jesus Christ be not God? Let no 
one object his acknowledged infe- 
riority to the Father. He is inferior 
in his human nature—he is inferior 
in his official relations as Mediator. 
But all this is explained by the single 
text just quoted. “He who was in 
the form of God, and thought it no 
robbery to be equal with God,. . , 
took on him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of 
men.” 

But the doctrine is too mysterious 
to be comprehended, and therefore 
cannot be believed. Indeed! who 
by. searching can find out God? 
And who can find out the Almighty 


56 —s SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


to perfection 2 And because this 
cannot be done; God is to be made 
a liar, by the rejection of the testi- 
mony which he has given of his Son. 
It were infinitely better to helieve 
the divine attestation to any thing, 
however surpassing our comprehen- 
sion, than to subscribe to the. doc- 


trine, which requires that language 


should be understood after this man- 
ner—“ the mighty God” signifies a 
feeble man ; the Father of Eternity ; 
the child of a day—which renders 
it necessary to account for the 
ascription of the creation of all things 
to a being, that had no existence till 
long after the universe was made— 
which requires that he should be 
regarded as a meek and holy man, 
who claims for himself all the attri- 
butes and prerogatives of God— 


OF CHRISTIANITY. ok 6Fp 


which represents that in all that God 
promised to the patriarchs of a 
deliverer; in all he announced by 
the prophets to set forth his glory 
and to exalt the conceptions of his 
kingdom and blessings; in all that - 
he did in the government of the 


_ church, and of the world to prepare 


for his coming, till expectation was 
raised on earth to intensity, and in 
heaven to wonder; nothing more 
was designed, than that a man should 
be born, whose ministry was to 
result.in the establishment of an 
inconsiderable sect which should 
deny all the prerogatives that are 
ascribed to him; and in the transfer 
of the worship of the rest of the 
world from the deities they adored, 
to himself as the object of their 
idolatries. The belief of the first, 


58 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 
is a reasonable homage to the in- 
finitude of God; the belief of the 
doctrine which implies the rest, is 
an eternal reproach upon reason it- 
self. And yet these things, with 
many others equally monstrous must 
be received before the doctrine of 
the divinity of Christ can be re- 
jected by any, who acknowledge a 
revelation from God. But if these 
things put all reasons, as well as all 
revelation at defiance; there is the 
divinity of Christ incontestibly es- 
tablished ; and the eternal hostility 
between Socinianism and Christiani- 
ty is manifested. Abide together, 
they cannot. The triumphs of 
either in any soul, is the necessary 
destruction of the other. 

In casting about with a view to 
discover who are liable to be carried 


OF CHRISTIANITY, 59 


away by the doctrine we oppose; 
it is pleasant to be assured that none 
who have been quickened together 
with Christ, can ever deny him who 
is their life, complete in him who is 
the head of all principality and 
power, they are already in the pro- 
fession of eternal life: and we are 
persuaded that neither death nor 
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things 
to come shall ever be able to separ- 
ate them from the love of God, which 
is in Christ Jesus their Lord. 
Neither are we much afraid that 
any who are earnestly seeking the 
way of life, under the anguish of a ~ 
heart broken for sin, will repose for 
consolation on that, which denies the 
consolation of Israel. As there can 
be no preaching in which the divinity 


3 


a 


60 SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


of Christ is not recognised, suffi- 
ciently pungent to force the cry, 
“what must I do to be saved ;” so it 
is utterly without power to heal the 
wounds which the truth of God has 
inflicted. The troubled conscience 
knows not its voice, nor will it heed : 
the softest message which it sends. 
Its consolations are for those only 
who have no trouble. It fortifies. 
no minds but such as are oppressed 
with no fears. Its pardons are for 
those who have no sense of guilt. 
Its purifications are for those who 
feel no need of cleansing. It affords 
“no remedy for the sickness of the 
soul. : ' 
On the other hand they are in 
danger who will not believe that the 
wisdom of this world is foolishness 
with God—who are not willing to 


OF CHRISTIANITY. 61 


deny themselves, to take up the cross 
and follow Christ—the disputers of 
this world who debate about religion 
as they debate about politics, are in 
danger—all who regard the services 
of the sanctuary, as a mere source of 
intellectual entertainment—all who 
consider religion as the mere regula- 
tor of the moral forms of the social 
state, all are in danger; because by 
none of them is religion contemplated 
in the sacredness of its character, in 
the overwhelming importance of its 
‘issues. Our youth are in danger, not 
only because they are liable to be 
captivated by the acts with which | 
the fatal tendencies of denying the. 
Lord Jesus are attempted to be 
concealed ; but also because while 
they are flattered for their supposed 
virtues, and but feebly rebuked for 
OG. 


= 


62: SOCINIANISM SUBVERSIVE 


their real sins, they are encouraged | 
to believe that all is well though | 
they be not born again. 

Religion should be investigated not 
with a view to the trial of ingenuity, 
or the gratification of taste, but under 
a sense of the manifest and tre- 
mendous evils which deform and 
plague the world, and with a desire 
to understand. the nature of .the 
remedies which God has provided 
against the diseases of the soul. The 
investigation should be made, with 
an humble, and teachable spirit; with 
a willingness to know the truth, 
though the discovery should mortify 
pride, and cover the soul with shame. 
Following this humility is honor; and 
they who are engaged in this humble 
patient. search, will fly the enemy 
that would cut off the right arm of 


_ OF CHRISTIANITY. 63. 


- their deliverer, and leave them de- 


fenceless in the day of wrath. 

The doctrine of the divinity of 
Jesus Christ, O how precious it is. 
It stays the thunderbolt of God, and 
disipates the cloud from the believers 
heaven. ‘There isnodepth of misery 
from which it cannot deliver; no— 
height of glory to which it cannot 
exalt. Say Christian whether the 
name Emmanuel, God with us, does 
not convey a sound of joy that is 
heard above the roar of deep calling 
unto deep, in the ocean of your 
sorrows! Does it not convey an 
assurance that all is well, so long as 
you rest upon him on whom the whole 
weight of heaven is hung? What 
else could sustain the spirit? To 
whom blessed Jesus can we go? 


64 - BOCINIANISM sUBUERAIYE 


Thou bast the vaskde qs atin life, 
and we believe and are sure that 
thou art that Christ, the Son of the 
Living God. Amen. ; 


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NOTICES OF DR. CHALMERS’ WORKS. 


“The writings of Chalmers are so well known and 
appreciated in this country that it is needless for us to 
appland their merits. The distinguished place at present 


occupied by the author in the Church of Scotland, in re-. 


sisting the interference of the State with the ecclesiasti- 
cal rights of the people, imparts an additional freshness to 
his fame. Mr. Carter of New-York, one of the most 
enterprising publishers in our country, particularly in 
the department of theology, has laid the public under. ob- 


ligations by this neat and we may say, beautiful edition 


of the works of such aman. The edition, it should be 
noticed, is mot a reprint of the author’s works already 
known in this country. His Astronomical and Com- 


mercial discourses have not only been carefully revised | 


but nearly doubled in number by the addition of ney 

ones; his Moral Philosophy is entirely new here; his 
Christian Revelation and Natural Theology may be said 
to be almost new as they are rewritten and enlarged; so 


that the whole series is offered as having peculiar claims 


on the literary and religious public.” —Presbyterian. 
Chalmers has attained a reputation enjoyed by no 
other living theologian, Itis an easy thing at the present 


~~ 


=e 


SE Se 


tema 


eam 


5 


day, to write; it is comparatively easy to write well; but 
to write so well upon any subject, however unique, as 
to elevate oneself above the immense crowd of com- 
petitors for popular approbation, and to stand pre-emi- 
nent, and conspicuous, is a privilege granted to few. 
What renders more special and remarkable, the distine- 
tion in the case of the great Scotch divine, is, that he 
belongs to a profession and writes upon subjects not 
confined to a small and select number. Every minister 


_of the gospel professes to be somewhat of a theologian ; 


and theology in modern times is more or less intermixed 
with moral philosophy; and both philosophers and 
theologians are all disposed to give their views to the 
public whenever by so doing, they have a reasonable 
prospect of acquiring reputation. On this common 
ground, and surrounded by so many, stripped and pre- 
pared for the course, the doctor has distanced rivalry in 
his own generation, and placed himself along side of the 


Owens, the Baxters, and the Edwards, of the past.—Bap- 


tist Advocate. . 


_“ An elegantedition of Dr. Chalmers’ Works in seven 
volumes has just been issued from the press of Robert 
Carter of this city, and will doubtless be rapidly bought 
by the thousands of admirers of that distinguished man 
in this country. His powersas a writer are well known 
and appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic. Few 
men have filled a larger space, in the attention of the 
religious world, and few exert a greater influence at this 
moment in the church of Scotland during its present 
struggle against the encroachments of the civil courts. 


2 


* 


6 


We are glad that Mr. Carter is giving the public, works 
of such sterling value, and we doubt not that he will find 
in the encouragement he receives arich reward.”— New- 
York Observer.: ii 

¥4Dr. Cuatmers’ Worxs.—A beautiful edition of the 
works of this celebrated divine, in seven thick duodecimo 
volumes, has just been brought out by Robert Carter 
* publisher, Canal-Street, New-York. The boldness of 
conception, extensive research, vigor of thought, ex- 
uberance of fancy, and affluence of language displayed 


in the writings of Dr. Chalmers, entitle him to a place’ 


among the first writers of the age. His catholicity of 
feeling, and liberality of views with respect to other 
denominations, are also well known: it was he who said 
of Methodism, ‘ It is Christianity in earnest.’ Hereafter 
we hope to give a more extended notice of these works,” 
—Christian Advocate and Journal. 


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